Brigham's agrees to sell ice cream lines to Hood

BOSTON — Brigham's Ice Cream Inc. on Friday agreed to sell its product lines to a subsidiary of HP Hood LLC in a deal that joins two of New England's most well-known ice cream brands.

Denise Lavoie

BOSTON — Brigham's Ice Cream Inc. on Friday agreed to sell its product lines to a subsidiary of HP Hood LLC in a deal that joins two of New England's most well-known ice cream brands.

Lynnfield-based Hood will acquire the Brigham's brand name and all products, proprietary flavors and recipes.

In a separate deal, Brigham's has agreed to sell its 28 retail outlets and restaurants to Baltimore-based Deal Metrics LLC.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Brigham's announced last month that it was exploring various strategic options, including a possible sale. The company said then that it was trying to compete against bigger ice cream brands while dealing with rising prices for fuel and ice cream ingredients such as milk.

The 40 people who work at Brigham's headquarters and production plant in Arlington will lose their jobs, Brigham's spokesman Doug Bailey said.

Another 100 or so employees who work at the company's restaurants are expected to keep their jobs under the new management.

Ice cream lovers won't see any changes in taste in the Brigham's brand, said Lynne Bohan, a spokeswoman for Hood.

"Our priority will be to focus on the strength of the Brigham's packaged ice cream business and in preserving the Brigham's proprietary flavors and recipes," Bohan said. "Brigham's has a very loyal following among consumers, and we want to preserve that."

The deal unites two of the most venerable ice cream brands in New England. Hood has been around for 160 years, while Brigham's is 94 years old.

"We're both iconic brands in the New England market, and we believe both brands have loyal followings," Bohan said.

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